Bob Morris @ Apr 26th 2006 21:49 - Category: Uncategorized Tags: Sri Lanka;
40,000 flee Sri Lanka violence
Some 40,000 civilians fled homes in northeastern Sri Lanka to escape government airstrikes on Tamil rebel areas in recent days that have killed at least a dozen people, the rebels said Thursday.
DJ Mitchell blogged here eloquently earlier today about the collapsing cease fire in Sri Lanka.
40,000 refugees in one day. Hard to grasp, isn’t it.
Bob Morris @ Apr 26th 2006 00:11 - Category: Immigrant rights ;
May 1 as a holiday for workers began in the United States. That’s right, the United States. It was born in, and commemorated, the struggle for the eight hour work day.
In the late 1800’s the union that became the AFL, along with anarchist organizers, were pushing hard for an eight hour work week. Strikes ensued. In 1886, police fired into a crowd, killing a striker. Workers protested the next day at Haymarket Square in Chicago. At the end of the rally, a bomb went off. Anarchists were blamed, several were tried in a kangaroo court and hung. In 1893, the governor pardoned all of them, saying they were innocent.
The unions went on to win the battle for the eight hour day, even though some paid with their lives.
When other countries began celebrating May Day, it took on a socialist flavor, so the U.S. changed the date here to Labor Day. Thus, most don’t even know the International Workers Day started in the U.S.
It is not surprising that the state, business leaders, mainstream union officials, and the media would want to hide the true history of May Day. In its attempt to erase the history and significance of May Day, the United States government declared May 1st to be “Law Day”, and gave the workers instead Labor Day, the first Monday of September - a holiday devoid of any historical significance.
May 1, considering its historical importance, seems an apt date for the upcoming immigrant workers boycott.
[tags]May Day,international workers day[/tags]
Bob Morris @ Apr 26th 2006 00:09 - Category: Anti-war ;
“We must never take any option off the table, because the danger is real. But we need to make every effort to negotiate, and it doesn’t look like that’s being done.”
Really? Never take any option off the table? Even using nuclear weapons, or violating international law by launching an unprovoked war of aggression? How about kidnapping Ayatollah Khamenei and torturing him until President Ahmadinejad agrees to destroy all nuclear facilities in Iran? Could we at least take that option off the table?
Feingold is supposed to be a progressive! Further proof, if any be needed, that the ruling class moves in lockstep when it comes to imperialist invasions.
With “progressives” like this, hyping the “danger” of Iran and refusing to “take any option off the table,” why worry about FOX News and the right wing?
Bob Morris @ Apr 26th 2006 00:04 - Category: Uncategorized Tags: Sri Lanka;
Today’s suicide bomb attack in Sri Lanka appears to mark the return to business as usual. It was bad enough that certain officials were targetted by snipers. The resumpton of suicide bombing indicates a disregard for collateral damage– in other words, innocent bystanders.
It must be noted that the LTTE is not alone in its march to war. The government has used paramiltaries, such as TELO and EPDP, to harrass LTTE supporters. Ethnic violence between LTTE-supporters and hard-line Sinhalese groups has increased daily in Trincomalee, and schools are beginning to fill with refugees. There have been reports of Tamils being abducted by the security forces and found dead the next day. The number of disappearances on both sides has increased. While the army has so far been reluctant to re-enter the war directly, there has been plenty of violence conducted on the government’s behalf.
Also the so-called Karuna Faction of the LTTE, the breakaway group that has sided (more or less) with the government, has attacked the LTTE regularly. Led by LTTE’s former top strategist, the Karuna Faction is effective and deadly. The LTTE claims that Karuna is supported and armed by the government, as well as India, but I have not had any independent reports indicating that this is true.
While it is true that Karuna and the government have a common enemy, Karuna’s claim that they arm themselves with captured LTTE weaponry appears (so far) to be true. Nevertheless, today’s bombing indicates a turning point, perhaps a tipping point beyiond which a resumption of war is inevitable. While I offer my condolences to Gen. Fonseka and his family for his grave injuries, my sympathy goes out to the Sinhalese and Tamil civilians, for they are the ones who will bear the brunt of the renewed violence.
And yet the quest for peace is not over. (I pray that it will never be over.) More on that when I have current details on what’s been going on.
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